Asbury man kills wife, then self

An Asbury man apparently killed his wife, then turned the gun on himself, sometime before Tuesday morning, according to Jasper County Sheriff Randee Kaiser.

Staff Reports

An Asbury man apparently killed his wife, then turned the gun on himself, sometime before Tuesday morning, according to Jasper County Sheriff Randee Kaiser.

The Sheriff's Office said in a written release that Richard Hughes, 58, and his wife, Janet Hughes, 53, were found dead in their home at 18022 County Road 290.

The office said a concerned citizen flagged officers down at the home near Asbury and told officers he had not been able to contact the couple.

Deputies went into the residence and found the two dead of single gunshot wounds to the head.Investigators obtained a search warrant for the home to investigate the deaths and determined that Richard Hughes apparently shot his wife, then shot himself.

The Sheriff's Office said an autopsy has been scheduled for both on Thursday in Springfield and the investigation into this incident is ongoing at this time.

Friends are leaving messages of condolences on Janet Hughes' Facebook page, as has become a ritual in recent years.

That page shows that Hughes had been a teacher at the Joplin Head Start program for 20 years, and had been married for 32 years.